Vintage Mid-Century Modern Art Pottery Tray Designed by Jane & Gordon Martz for Marshall Studios, Inc. - Circa Late 1950

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Vintage Mid-Century Modern Art Pottery Tray Designed by Jane & Gordon Martz for Marshall Studios, Inc. - Circa late 1950 … more Vintage Mid-Century Modern Art Pottery Tray Designed by Jane & Gordon Martz for Marshall Studios, Inc. - Circa late 1950

A rare large centerpiece “willow tray” designed by Jane and Gordon Martz for Marshall Studios, Inc. The incised motif first appeared in Stoneware Catalog No. 6 from Fall 1955 . This particular design and size are documented in the Marshall Studios Stoneware Catalog No. 10 from Fall 1959. The decorated willow tray (P39) is rendered in black matte glaze (35), with cut clay area decoration (11).

Marshall Studios’ Jane and Gordon Martz were pioneers of Modernist ceramics in mid to late 20th century Indiana. They produced beautiful and useful items for the home that were so notable as to be included in the 1953 MoMA Good Design exhibition. They were in good company. Charles and Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia, Raymond Lowey and Stig Lindberg were among their peers that were included that year.

Gordon Martz and Jane Marshall (1929-2007) met while they were students at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred NY. In 1951, they joined the Marshall Studios in Veedersburg, Indiana, founded by Jane's grandmother Jesse in 1922, and operated by the family including Jane's father Nicholas Marshall and her mother Grace, originally to produce lampshades and woodwork. For the next 38 years, the Martz’s at Marshall Studios designed and produced a wide variety of functional ceramic housewares including stoneware lamps, dishes, bookends, and tiles. The bodies of their ware were formed by slip-casting, ram pressing, or jiggering, and the pieces were hand decorated. Their work was recognized by a design award from the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, which also has some of their work in its permanent collection.

This art pottery tray is in excellent vintage condition, with NO chips or cracks. This Art Pottery is the PERFECT addition to your Mid-Century Modern Art Pottery collection. less